CHARSADDA: Serious questions have been raised on the administrative structure and state writ of Charsadda district, where illegal tax collection from butchers in the name of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) has been revealed for a long time.
According to a local correspondent, TMA Charsadda officials are collecting huge amounts from butchers through a specific receipt, but surprisingly, there is no mention of these amounts in any official account or record of TMA.
On the other hand, Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO) Naveed Gandapur has expressed complete ignorance in the matter and revealed that no such tax is imposed by TMA and neither are these receipts official. According to TMO, these receipts given to butchers are completely fake and have no connection with the department.
This statement of TMO has opened a new Pandora’s box. The question is being raised by the public circles that if these receipts are fake, under which law and on whose instructions are the TMA uniformed officials collecting this “perk” from the city’s butchers for months? Were the district administration and senior officers of the concerned departments unaware of this open looting or is it all the result of an organized nexus?
The affected butchers and citizens say that the public collection of money by government officials on fake receipts is proof of the absence of state writ in the district. This situation has created severe anxiety among the poor workers who are already facing difficulties in running their businesses in the era of inflation.
The administration has directed the affected butchers to immediately come to the TMO office and identify the officials who have collected money from them on these fake receipts so that legal action can be taken against them and the looted money can be returned. Furthermore, butchers have also been advised to directly approach the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Charsadda in case of any kind of obstruction or threat so that this corruption network can be completely eradicated.
Read also: Poor performance of elected MPAs frustrates South Waziristan public
